Collapsible hat



March 30, 1954 H. L. KEY 2,673,349

COLLAPSIBLE HAT Filed Feb. 28, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Hus/4 L. KE Y- ATTORNEYS March 30, 1954 KEY 2,673,349

' COLLAPSIBLE HAT I Filed Feb. 28, 1951 3 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTORI HUGH L. Kr.

ATTORNEYS March 30, 1954 KEY 2,673,349

COLLAPSIBLE HAT Filed Feb. 28, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 BY EQAMM ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 30, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COLLAPSIBLE HAT Hugh L. Key, Rural Hall, N. 0.

Application February 28, 1951, Serial No. 213,145

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a hat and more especially to a lightweight collapsible hat made of thermoplastic material and adapted to be used particularly as a rain hat.

It is an object of this invention to prov de a collapsible lightweight hat which may be folded into a compact unit and earried in a pocket of a coat or the like and which is provided with a plurality of channels which may be inflated to cause the hat to stiffen and to maintain its shape so that it may be worn while inflated and present a pleasing appearance.

Th s application relates to an improvement of and a continuation-in-part of the invention disclosed in my co-pending application entitled Inflatable Hat, Serial No. 163,520, filed May 22, 1950 now abandoned and it is a further object of this invention to provide a lightweight and collaps'ble hat of the type therein described but which is more easily constructed and has various other advantages that will become apparent as the description proceeds.

It is another object of this invention to provide a hat having a brim and a crown and said brim being provided with a plural'ty of inflatable channels whereby said channels may be inflated to lend rigidity to the hat and said brim being so constructed as to cause the crown to stand erect upon the brim channels being inflated.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form 01 the improved hat and showing the same inflated;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the improved hat on a reduced scale;

Figure 3 is a top plan View, on a reduced scale. of the brim ortion of the improved hat shown in Figure 1 removed from the crown portion and showing the same prior to the ends thereof being joined together and omitting the stem;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional plan view of a portion of the brim and showing the manner in which the brim ends are joined together;

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in Figure 4 and showing the air passage formed between the channels of the hat brim;

Figure 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the hat taken along the line 66 in Figure 2; a

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view through the hat brim taken along the line ?i in Figure 4 and showing the air passage between the channels and showing the manner in which the crown is secured to the brim;

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view similar to Figure 7 and being taken along the line 8--8 in Figure 4 but omitting the crown of the hat;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a second form of the improved hat similar to the hat shown in Figure l but having a single inflated channel in the brim thereof;

Figure 10 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the hat shown in Figure 9 looking substantially along the line l9l [B in Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a fragmentary plan view on a reduced scale of the brim portion of the form of hat shown in Figure 9 and illustrating the same before the ends thereof are secured together or secured to the crown of the hat.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral to broadly designates the first embodiment of the improved lightweight collapsible and transparent hat which is formed from any suitable thin lightweight plastic material such as Koroseal, Vinylite plastic, polystyrene and the like and which includes a plurality of channels in the brim thereof whereby the brim may be inflated to give the hat rigidity so that it will maintain its shape while being worn and be pleasing in appearance. In many of the drawings, the thickness of the plastic material is exaggerated for purposes of illustration but it is to be understood that the hat is preferably made from a very thin thermoplastic material so as to be light in weight and easily inflatable and so that the seams and joints thereof will be practically unnoticeable and w ll not detract from the appearance of the hat.

The brim of the hat II] is formed from an upper and a lower sheet I! and [2, respectively, of thin plastic material each of said sheets having the same configuration as may be observed in Figure 3 wherein the upper and lower sheets or brim portions II and I2 are illustrated in plan as joined to each other to form the brim. Referring to F gure 3, it will be observed that the portions H and H of the hat brim are cut in the shape of three-quarters of an annulus in plan, so that when the opposed end portions of the brim portions l I and !2 are joined together the brim thus formed will be substantially oval and when the brim is inflated in a manner to be described it will form a brim which is slightly oval as may be seen in Figure 10 having a length which is slightly greater than the width thereof to thus give the hat a conventional configuration and a pleasing appearance.

When the opposed ends of the brim are joined together, it is obvious that there will be a slight buckling of the sides of the brim and when the brim is inflated in a manner to be described, the inflation will overcome the buckling and exert a pull along the inner edge of the brim to thus exert pressure along the lower edge of the crown to assist in maintaining the crown in an erect position.

The peripheral edges of the upper brim portion H are joined to the peripheral edges of the lower brim portion l2 as at l3 by any suitable means such as adhesive but it is preferred that they be sealed together by the application of heat which causes the two pieces of thermoplastic material to adhere to each other. The inner peripheral edges of the brim portions H and I2 are secured together in a like manner as at I4 and the opposed end portions of the brim thus formed are secured to each other as at l and I5 (Figure 5) to thus form a substantially oval shaped brim having an upper and lower surface and an air space therebetween. Now, the upper brim portion H is additionally secured to the lower brim portion l2 by a plurality of seams which extend around the brim in spaced alinement with the peripheral edge thereof, said seams being indicated at 20, 2| and 22. It will be observed in Figures 3 and 4 that these seams are concentric and stop short of the junctures l5 and N5 of the opposed ends of the brim portions H and 12. The seams 25, 2| and 22 are preferably formed by the application of heat to the thermoplastic material in any suitable manner to cause the upper portion II and the lower portion 2 to adhere to'each other along the seam lines 29, 2| and 22.

The seams 29, 2| and 22 form a plurality of concentric channels of air passageways 23, 2d, and 25 which extend around the brim of the .hat and which are adapted to be inflated in a manner to be described. It will be observed in Figure 4 that the upper brim portion is additionally sealed to the lower brim portion l2 at the terminal points of each of the seams 23, 2| and 22 as at 21, this sealing preferably being in the form of spot welds and these spot welds 2'3 define a passageway broadly designated altbetween the channels 23, 24, 25 and 25. 'The outermost channel 23 has a stem 3| secured therein and communicating with the interior thereof and the stem 3| is provided with a plug 32 which may be removed to permit air to be forced into the channel 23 and thrc-ugh the passage3|l into the channels 24, 25 and 25 to thus inflate the same at which time the plug 32 maybe inserted in the stem 3| to maintain the brim of the hat in inflated position.

The hat brim thus formed may be secured to any suitable type of crown such as the crown illustrated in my said co-pending application, Serial No. 163,520, but it has been found preferable to secure a brim of th type described to a crown formed of suitable thin lightweight thermoplastic material which will maintain its desired shape upon the brim being inflated without the addition of any supporting members therefor.

The crown of the hat I0 is thus preferably formed from a sheet of thermoplastic material 33 having the opposed ends 34 and 35 thereof suitably secured to each other as by heat or adhesion, and the lowermost edge of the side wall 33 is turned up as at 36 and is suitably secured to the inner peripheral edge of the brim portions H and I2 which are also turned up as at 3'! so that a continuous seam is formed around the entire outerperiphery of the crown side wall 33. The upper edge of the side wall 33 is turned inwardly as at 40 and is secured to the inturned portion 41 of a top piece 42 to form a crown which is waterproof and pleasing in' appearance.

It has been found by making the brim in the manner illustrated and described having a configuration of three-quarters of an annulus and then securing the same together to form an oval-shaped hat. it is possible to use a crown of the typ described without any additional support and when the brim is inflated, it will form d an oval-shaped brim and the crown when raised to the desired height will retain this position and will not collapse during ordinary usage.

It is obvious that the' hat thus formed may be deflated and folded into a compact unit for storage and carrying purposes.

It is thus seen that I have provided an improved light-weight thermoplastic, watarproof,

inflat'able and collapsible hat particularly adapted to be used as a rain hat and having an ovalshaped brim with a plurality of concentric channels therein and a passageway between said channels and means for introducing air into said channels to inflate the same and said brim having a crown portion associated therewith whereby the hat may be deflated and carried in a compact unit and may be inflated when desired to present a neat hat of pleasing appearance.

Referring to Figures 9, 10. and 11, there is shown a second form of the improved inflatable hat which is also formed from thin lightweight plastic material and which is broadly indicated at 55. The hat has a brim formed from an upper portion 5| and a lower portion 52 which portions have the shape of two-thirds of an annulus in plan as will be observed in Figure 11 and the outer peripheral edges thereof are secured together as at 53 and the inner peripheral edges thereof are secured together and turned upwardly to form a flange portion 54. A channel 55 is formed around the outer peripheral por ticn of the brim and the upper brim portion 5| and the lower brim portion 52 are secured together as at 56 between thechannel 55 and the inner peripheral edge 54 of the brim.

-. upper portion 5| of the brim has a stem 55 secured therein and communicating with the channel 55 and provided with a plug 5| whereby air may be introduced through the stem 53 to inflate the channel 55 to thus cause the portion 55 of the brim to be pulled taut and to lend rigidity to the hat after which the plug 5| may be inserted to prevent air from leaking from the channel 55.

The hat 53 is also provided with a crown having a circular or oval-shaped side Wall 52 having the lower edge thereof turned upwardly as at 53 and secured to the inner peripheral flange 5d of the brim. The upper edge of the side wall or crown portion 52 is turned inwardiy as at 64 and is secured to the inturned portion 55 of a top piece 65. The crown portions 62 and 55 are preferably formed from thin transparent thermoplastic material and the manner in which the brim is constructed will cause an outward pull on the portion 56 of the brim when the channel 55 is inflated to thus exert pressure on the crown to cause the same to maintain its configuration during normal usage without the necessity of an additional support for the crown of the hat.

The hat thus formed may be readily collapsed for storage and transportation purposes and when inflated will retain its shape and present a pleasing appearance.

It will thus be observed that there is provided an improved inflatable and collapsible hat formed from thin transparent thermoplastic material and'provided with one or more channels therein so' positioned to cause the hat to maintain a substantially rigid configuration upon air being introduced to said channels, whereby the hat may be collapsed and carried in a compact unit and may be readily inflated to form a hat of pleasing appearance for wear during rain or the like.

In the drawings and specification, there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. An inflatable and collapsible hat comprising a brim formed from two sheets of resilient material, each of said sheets being in the shape of three-quarters of an annulus, the inner and outer peripheral edges of said sheets being secured together and the opposed ends of said sheets being secured together to form a substantially oval brim, said brim having at least one inflatable oval channel therein extending around the outer periphery of the brim, valve means in said brim and communicating with said channel for introducing air into said channel to inflate the same to lend rigidity to the brim, said brim having a pliable and non-inflatable crown attached thereto and means for closing said valve means for maintaining air in the channel.

2. An inflatable and collapsible hat comprising a brim formed from two sheets of resilient material, each of said sheets of resilient material being in the shape of an annulus having less than onehalf thereof cut away, the inner and outer peripheral edges of the sheets of resilient material being secured to each other and the opposed ends of the sheets of resilient material being secured to each other to form a substantially oval brim, said sheets of resilient material forming said brim having a plurality of concentric seam lines securing said sheets together and forming a plurality of concentric channels therein, one of said channels extending around the outer periphery of the brim, said brim being provided with a passageway between the sheets of resilient material and connecting said channels, means extending from one of said channels for introducing air into said channel whereby the brim may be inflated, means for closing said last-named means to prevent the escape of air from said channel, said hat also having a pliable and non-inflatable crown secured to the inner peripheral edge of said brim and when said brim is inflated lending rigidity thereto and when said brim is deflated providing a compact unit for carrying purposes by the use of both of said means.

3. An inflatable and collapsible hat comprising a brim formed from two sheets of thin, lightweight thermoplastic material, each of said sheets of thermoplastic material being in the shape of substantially three-quarters of an annulus, the inner and outer peripheral edges of the sheets of thermoplastic material being secured to each other and the opposed ends of the sheets of thermoplastic material being secured to each other to form a substantially oval brim, said sheets of thermoplastic material forming said brim having a plurality of concentric seam lines securing the said sheets together and formin a plurality of concentric air passageways therein, one of said passageways extending around the outer periphery of the brim, said brim being provided with a communicating passageway between said sheets and connecting said concentric air passageways, means extending from one of said passageways for introducing air into one of said passageways whereby the brim may be inflated to lend rigidity thereto, means for closing said lastnamed means to prevent the escape of air from said passageways, said brim being deflatable to provide a compact unit for carrying purposes and said hat also having a pliable and non-inflatable crown comprising a side wall having its lower edges secured to the inner peripheral edge of said brim and a top piece secured to the upper edges of said side wall.

4. An improved inflatable and collapsible hat having an oval brim and a pliable and non-inflatable crown, said brim being provided with a plurality of inflatable interconnected oval channels therein, one of said channels extending around the outer periphery of the brim, means extending from one of said channels for introducing air into said channel, whereby said channels may be inflated to lend rigidity to the brim.

5. An improved inflatable and collapsible hat formed from thin transparent thermoplastic material and having an oval brim and a pliable and non-inflatable crown and said brim bieng provided with an inflatable oval channel therein,

, means extending from said channel for introducing air into said channel, said channel being so positioned around the outer periphery of the brim as to cause the hat brim to maintain a substantially rigid attitude upon air being introduced to said channel.

6. An inflatable and collapsible hat comprising a brim formed from two sheets of resilient material, said sheets of resilient material being in the shape of two-thirds of an annulus having the inner and outer peripheral edges thereof secured together and the opposed ends thereoi secured together to form a substantially oval brim, the two sheets of thermoplastic material forming said brim being secured to each other for a distance in excess of half of the width thereof and being free for a portion thereof adjacent the peripheral edge thereof to form a channel around the outer peripheral edge thereof, means extending from said channel ior introducing air into said channel to inflate the same and to exert a pull on the brim to lend rigidity thereto, means for closin said last-named means to maintain the brim in inflated position and said brim having a pliable and non-inflatable crown secured thereto.

7. An inflatable and collapsible hat comprising a brim formed of two sheets of resilient material, each of said sheets being in the shape of an annulus having less than one-half thereof cut away, the opposed ends of the sheets of resilient material being secured to each other and the inner and outer edges of the two sheets of resilient material being secured to each other to form a substantially oval brim, said brim having at least one inflatable oval channel therein extending around the outer periphery thereof, means for introducing air into said channel to inflate the same to lend rigidity to the brim, and said brim having a pliable and non-inflatable crown attached thereto.

HUGH L. KEY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 17,268 Davidson Apr. 16, 1929 606,982 Smyth July 5, 1898 917,210 Weiner Apr. 6, 1909 1,560,073 Bontempi et a1 Nov. 3, 1925 1,581,445 Hoover Apr. 20, 1926 2,100,651 Schur Nov. 30, 1937 2,418,069 Delano Mar. 25, 1947 

